Steve Harvey Speaks On Miss Universe Backlash, Death Threats, Meeting With President Trump

Between hosting his daily TV talk show, radio and game shows, Steve Harvey is a master multi-tasker. At the ripe age of 60, he has no plans to slow down. He recently sat down with Cigar Aficionado to discuss meeting with President Donald Trump, his career, love, relationships and that one extraordinary, catastrophic blunder he just can’t seem to shake.

On receiving death threats in the aftermath of the Miss Universe flub, and having to hire 24/7 armed security: “I live on a dead-end street—and it got real when things started coming over the gate. Empty boxes with bows and pictures of bombs. And these with death threats on social media that would pop up from fake IP addresses. I wound up with 24-hour armed security at my house. I have two armed guards there full-time to this day.”

On backlash from Colombians: “In the Philippines, they love me—but I can’t go to Colombia…The next morning, there was this massive crowd, all around my car outside the hotel—all these Colombians giving me hell. My Twitter and Instagram blew up and I got called every name in the book. I got cussed out in Spanish so bad that I know profanity in Spanish now.”

On meeting with President Trump on the challenges facing America’s inner cities: “I’m glad I did. You have to take a seat at the table when you’re invited. If you’re not at the table, you can’t refuse the menu, or suggest what you should be eating. I walked away feeling like I had just talked with a man who genuinely wants to make a difference in this area.”

On quitting stand-up five years ago to pursue hosting radio and TV: “It was a heartbreaking decision. I cried so hard afterward. I was on my knees. It was crazy to walk away from something that meant so much to me. Fortunately, I get to be funny on every show I do. But nothing can ever come close to what it feels like when you’re onstage and it’s 12,000 people and it’s you and a spotlight, a bar stool, a glass of water and a microphone. There’s nothing like that. It’s the basis of everything I am.”

On what men need to realize about marriage: “You can be happy—or you can be right. You make that decision every day. If you’re in a relationship and your goal is to be right, understand that you’re going to be arguing with a person who is an expert at arguing. You have to understand what you’re up against: You’re arguing with someone who knows everything about you. I learned after two marriages that I’d rather be happy.”

On what women get wrong about men: “The mistake women make is thinking ‘I can change him.’ You keep thinking that but, ladies, we are how we are. We are basically the same. You can’t change us. But you can persuade us, get us to do things we don’t want to do. For example, my wife likes Broadway shows. And I don’t like musicals at all. But, because we sleep together, I sit there and try to find something I like about it. She walks out after and she’s in a great mood: ‘Let’s go back to the hotel and sleep together.’ Jackpot.”

On turning 60: “Man, 60 seemed so far away when I was 30—but then, when I was 30, I was living in my car. What I am today almost seemed unthinkable. I didn’t even have an image of 60 when I was 30. Back then, I was so consumed with right now, with the next gig, and how am I going to make that $1,000 I need, and if I could just make $175 over here. Do I have to work this hard? Yeah, I do, to get where I want to. I’m trying to get in a position where, when I’m gone, my children’s grandchildren know my name.”